Welcome to Saint Joseph's College (SJC) Website. This site gives you an easy access to explore Saint Joseph's College Tabwiroa Abaiang. It also guide students from all over Kiribati and Abaiang to access their online note from the site or to get their informations about the College for this year 2010.

This school is fortunate to be situated on a 20-acre property on Abaiang. The double-storey cement building was used for a seminary from 1938 until 1939. So when St. Joseph's College was officially opened in February, 1940, many of the first 40 pupils were former seminarians. By 1954 there were 100 boys mostly boarders from all over Kiribati. In that year the staff comprised a French MSC priest, two Australian OLSH Sisters and two I-Kiribati teachers. An older French Sister cared for the boys in many ways, but at that time the students supplied their own food and cooked for themselves. The only fee was thirty shillings a year for typewriting lessons.

Most students enrolling at Tabwiroa in the early 1950's were in their late teens but by 1959 some of the younger students were ready to sit the General Certificate of Education (London University). This was soon replaced by the Cambridge School Certificate on Form 5 until 1963.

Owing to lack of staff in 1964 Tabwiroa discontinued its upper form and students who sat the Form 3 Colony Junior Certificate were selected for Form 4 at KGV. With a Form 3 Certificate students were also able to get jobs and become apprentices,.

In 1971 Tabwiroa once again had Form 4 and Form 5 in 1972-74. In 1974 it was decided to consolidate Tabwiroa and Taborio as one co-ed Catholic Secondary Schools with Forms1,2,3 at Tabwiroa and Forms 4 and 5 at Taborio. The two schools were named Catholic Junior College and Catholic Senior College. So from 1975 till 1992 this continued with Tabwiroa Form 1 students automatically proceeding to Form 4 at Taborio.

Beginning in 1993, Form 1 was discontinued at Tabwiroa with entry at Form 2, in line with a new policy trialled for the benefit of more mature students and to save parents extra expense so more students could continue at school until Form 5. It was soon evident that most parents preferred their children to enter secondary school at Form 1 level. So once again Tabwiroa had Form 1 and by 1994 it also had Form 5 students who were ready to sit the Kiribati National Certificate.

As Tabwiroa was a boys' school for so many years, ex-students still prefer to send their sons there as they know that their culture, traditional skills and faith will be carefully nurtured and developed.

As a junior secondary school Tabwiroa established its reputation in the country. Many ex-students of the sixties, seventies and eighties hold important positions in Kiribatii while some of the earlier Tabwiroa students are outstanding in their dedication to the Church and its needs.

From Jane's Home Page